The 24 participatingteams were divided into six groups. The top and second-best squads of eachgroup and four third-place teams with the best performance will qualify for thenext round.
The ninth edition oftournament will be held in Lithuania from September 12 to October 3.
Only Brazil and Spain participatedin all editions. Brazil won the first for five times. The reigning champions,however, are Argentina.
In 2016, Vietnam wereamong four third-placed teams earning a berth in the second round, in whichthey were beaten by the runners-up Russia./.